Hey hey comic book fans and welcome to another episode of the Crank File. Every Tuesday here I spotlight some of the new books coming out on Wednesday that I’m excited about. Here’s what I’m reading this week.

The Top of the Pile: Black Hammer #7

Publisher: Dark HorseWords: Jeff LemireArt: Dean Ormston

What it is: Joe Weber: the Black Hammer. A hero from the Spiral Slums. A husband. A father. Gone without a trace. A visitor from the outside world arrives on the farm, looking for the Black Hammer and bringing news of Spiral City to its Golden Age heroes. Her arrival stirs up old memories and awakens new hope in the marooned heroes.

Why we love it: Lemire recently announced that he will not be renewing his contract with Marvel upon completion in order to focus on his independent work. While unfortunate news for Marvel, it’s a relief for fans of his indie books. There were concerns that the mammoth workload of writing Old Man Logan, Extraordinary X-Men, Moon Knight, Thanos, Hawkeye, Bloodshot, Descender, Royal City and illustrating A.D, was going to delay release dates, or worse affect the quality of work. Much to my delight, it seems as if my favorite series from the hardest working man in comics is back. Seriously, the man must have clones of himself.

The Mainstream One: Action Comics #976

Publisher: DCWords: Dan JurgensArt: Doug Mahnke

What it is: ‘SUPERMAN REBORN’ finale! As this epic tale wraps up, Superman’s life is drastically changed…and that’s all we are saying for now-except that you won’t want to miss it!

Why we like it: Thy probably should have put a spoiler alert warning on that cover. As you can tell, the New 52 Superman is somehow back after disintegrating just a little under a year ago. What does it all mean? Hopefully not that Rebirth was just another lazy, line-wide shuffle in an attempt to grow market share.

The Indie One: Underwinter #1

Publisher: ImageWords and Art: Ray Fawkes

What it is: SERIES PREMIERE! ‘SYMPHONY,’ Part One-Critically acclaimed creator RAY FAWKES launches his new monthly horror series: UNDERWINTER, twisted portraits of our dark world, beginning with the perverse, topical SYMPHONY – a beautifully painted tale of music and cruelty in the modern age.

Why we like it: Light week for independent books. Asides from the relaunches at Valiant, there really weren’t many indie titles that caught my eye. As a fan of both horror and music, this gets a look from me.

The #1 One: Iron Fist #1 (Ross variant)

Publisher: MarvelWords: Ed BrissonArt: Mike Perkins

What it is: THE GAUNTLET STARTS HERE! K’un Lun is in ruins. The chi fueling Danny’s fists is wavering. Is there a future for the Iron Fist? Danny Rand pushes himself to the breaking point, finding fights to prove his worth. But a bigger fight than he can handle may have found him?

Why we like it: I haven’t started the Netflix show yet, so you won’t find any reveals here. Iron Fist isn’t my favorite Kung Fu fighter, but I am happy to see Marvel giving some attention to it’s martial arts characters (and the sweet Alex Ross variant cover doesn’t hurt any). I hope that we see some of this bleed over into the movies. Although they’ll probably just end up casting Tilda Swinton as the lead.

The One I’m Buying for the Cover: Electra #2 (Granov variant)

What it is: ELEKTRA COMES OUT TO PLAY! ELEKTRA has tried to lie low, but she finds herself in the crosshairs of a dangerous force in Sin City. A string of clues including high tech weaponry, kidnappings and assassins lead her to a game of chance more deadly than she ever expected. Can she outsmart this mastermind?or is she playing right into his hand?

Why we like it: It’s highly unlikely that I’ll be finding this lovely cover out in the wild. It’s a 1:25 ratio variant and if your local comic shop is anything like mine, then they probably wouldn’t have ordered 25 copies of Elektra #2. This cover is an absolute beauty and copies are already trading at close to $100 on feeBay. If you’re lucky enough to see one at your store, don’t hesitate for even a second.